Baby Dies In Australia From Suspected Spider Bite

A family in Western Australia is mourning the death of their 2-month-old baby boy who they suspect died from a spider bite after the family found two small bite marks on his hand.

Lance Ryder was taken to a local hospital and then airlifted to Perth on April 25, but died 10 hours after his parents found the bite mark, reports Perth Now.

Lance’s family created a fundraising page to help cover funeral costs, reports Daily Mail.

Ryder’s uncle called the baby a “little battler” on the GoFundMe page which plans to raise $20,000 for “tributes and memorial stone.”

The family’s GoFundMe page says:

“Helping my big sister Mary out with tributes and memorial stone. Such a tragedy to hold your dying son in your arms. Marys 7th son Lance born on 28th Feb 2016 has just been tragically taken away from us at 3 months old. Suffering from a spider bite on his hand this little battler lost his fight for life some 10 hours later after being flown to Perth By the Royal Flying Doctor.”

The family had raised $1,140 in two days.

“Such a tragedy to hold your dying son in your arms,” the baby’s aunt, Kathleen Nelly, wrote on the crowdfunding website.

Deaths caused by spider bites are exceptionally rare in Australia, with 2,000 reported spider bites each year, and there hasn’t been a confirmed case since 1979.

Medical experts are still trying to determine the exact cause of the baby’s death and if it was a spider bite, what kind of spider bit him.